The Secret Life Of Twins

Professor Robert Winston is becoming quite a personality. Not only are we enjoying his revelations of The Human Body on Fridays, but from tonight he appears, in front of the camera this time, as the presenter of a series that sheds more light on our species in The Secret Life Of Twins (Pearl, 8.30pm).

Twins make fascinating television. There is the unexpected element of seeing double, the drama of the complications that may arise in pregnancy and life, and finally the demonstration twins give of the power of genes over nurture in determining our characters.

Winston mixes the human interest with the science and the facts. At least one in 12 of us started our lives in the womb as twins, a sibling often being miscarried without the mother even knowing. Nearly one third of all twins are born dangerously premature, as in the case of one of two sets of twins Winston follows through pregnancy and birth for this programme.

Plastic surgeon David Teplica is fascinated by the physical similarities between twins as they progress through life. He finds that even in older people, pimples and rogue hairs appear at the same time, same place.

But there are only so many identical twins who are willing to appear on camera and we have seen some of them before. These include the inspirational Americans, Reba and Lori Schappell, who are managing to live life to the full despite being joined at the head. This programme, though, explores their physiology more deeply than we saw on ATV World earlier this year.

Actress Joanna Lumley (pictured) explores her family history in Joanna Lumley In The Kingdom Of The Thunder Dragon (BBC World, 9.10pm). Travelling by pony, road and foot, Lumley and her Bhutanese cousin Myfanwy retrace a journey made by her grandparents in 1931 through the kingdom of Bhutan.